Common Enemy (4 page)

“Are you tired? I should let you get to bed.”

“No. I can’t sleep. I think I’ll stay up and watch the next movie. You don’t have to stay with me, though. I know you’ve worked hard today.”

“That was yesterday. It’s two o’clock now. What’s the problem? Why are you wiggling so much?”

“No real problem. I think I must have pulled my back a little when we were moving furniture.”

“Why didn’t you say so? These magic fingers can fix anything.” He ran up the stairs for just a minute and returned with the comforter and pillows from her bed. He spread the comforter on the floor in front of the television. “You’re lucky this happened on a Cary Grant night. Lie on your stomach and put your arms up.”

He rubbed her back trying to keep his mind on the movie. At the first commercial, he looked down to see that she had fallen asleep. He turned off the TV and lay down on the floor beside her. He just wanted to study her face for a moment before he left. He brought a lock of her hair to his face to breathe in its sweet scent. He placed a light kiss on his fingertips and touched her cheek. A soft feminine sigh slipped from her lips as she slept. Her steady breathing lulled him into a dreamless sleep almost instantly.

Sun was streaming through the window when Connor heard the voice of
Sponge Bob Square Pants
. Lizzy sat on the sofa watching the cartoon intently. Jordan had rolled over in the night. Her bottom nestled against his stomach. He felt her stir awake.

“What are you doing out of bed?” she asked sleepily.

“I’m waiting for my breakfast,” Lizzy replied. “Are you two going to sleep all day?”

“What?” Jordan whipped her head around to find Connor beside her. Her eyes widened with panic. “No, no, I’m getting up now.”

Connor grabbed her around the waist. “Don’t get up, not yet,” he whispered.

“Why, what’s wrong?”

“If you get up, I’m going to be very embarrassed, and you’re going to have a lot of explaining to do.” To his surprise, Jordan burst out laughing. He was not amused.

“Go upstairs and get dressed, Lizzy.” When the coast was clear, Jordan sat up. “The bathroom is all yours, Romeo.” She was still snickering as she skipped up the stairs.

****

Connor was nowhere in sight when Jordan and Lizzy returned to the living room.

“Help me get this stuff picked up before we cook breakfast.” Jordan gathered the bedclothes from the floor.

“Maybe Connor will have breakfast with us today.”

“I don’t know. That’s up to him.”

“Is Connor my daddy now?” Lizzy asked.

“Why would you ask something like that?”

“My friend Ashley, in Tampa, says that mommies and daddies sleep together.”

“We didn’t sleep together. We just fell asleep in the same place. It was an accident.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Usually, mommies and daddies love each other,” Jordan replied.

“Don’t you love Connor?”

“Connor is just working here for a while.” Jordan pulled her close. “After he’s done, he’ll be going away.”

“I don’t want him to go away. Why can’t he stay here?” Lizzy cried.

The screen door in the kitchen slammed.

For the rest of the day, Connor stayed busy scraping loose paint from the outside of the house. Jordan knew he’d overheard their conversation. She tried to think of what to say to him about it. She finally decided maybe it would be best to just ignore the whole incident. She waited for him to finish his shower.

“Dinner will be ready soon. You’d better hurry up. How do you feel about meatloaf tonight?” Her smile felt stiff.

“I’m not staying for dinner.” He wouldn’t look her in the eye. “I’ll be back by Monday morning.”

“My meatloaf isn’t that bad.”

“I need some time to myself.” He walked away.

That night, Jordan tossed fitfully in her bed. At four in the morning she gave up the idea of sleeping and decided to make a pot of coffee. She sat at her kitchen table waiting for the coffeemaker to finish and picked up the kitten.

“I’ve been living alone for five years,” she told Tom, stroking his soft head. “Why is my mind so unsettled now? Maybe it’s just that I know Bobby Ray is going to be released soon. He’ll be under the supervision of a parole officer, though. He wouldn’t be allowed to follow me, even if he knew where I was. I need to get over this ridiculous paranoia.”

A small, bright orange reflection spotted the side of her coffee carafe. She turned to look through the living room. Out the window were twin orange lights. A vehicle was parked in the driveway with only its parking beams on. Had Connor returned early? When she moved forward to get a better look, the glowing white headlights came on, blinding her momentarily. Then, the vehicle receded and moved down the road toward town.

“It was just the paper delivery,” she assured Tom. “I’m sure that’s who it was, no doubt in my mind.”

Now she was lying to the cat. She placed him on the floor and pulled a cookbook from the cabinet. By the time Lizzy woke, six pies lined the kitchen counter.

****

Connor sat on the bank of the creek. He’d been so deep in thought he’d forgotten to throw his line in the water for over an hour.

Lizzy was just a little girl. She hadn’t meant for her words to hurt him the way they had. She didn’t know how much he ached to have a family of his own. How could she? He hadn’t even realized it until lately. What hurt more was Jordan’s complete dismissal of the idea.

What did he expect her to say? It must have been shocking for her to wake up next to him. His own wife hadn’t lost any time filing for divorce after she’d seen what had been done to him.

He’d signed the papers in his hospital bed, letting her have almost everything. He’d given up his career and walked away from his whole life. He’d never looked back. Since then, he hadn’t wanted another woman for more than a couple of hours. He’d found a few willing to leave a bar with him. It didn’t happen often, and they weren’t the most reputable ladies in town.

Jordan was different though. She was clean, fresh, and beautiful. She was so expressive; he knew she would be a bottomless well of passion. She was the kind of woman made for a man’s arms. So why was she alone?

Connor jumped to his feet when the bushes rustled behind him.

“I see you’ve found my favorite hiding place.” Arnold Coleman walked toward the water.

“I don’t see a fishing pole in your hand, old man.”

“Sometimes I just like to watch the water.” Without turning he asked, “How’s the job going?”

“I’ve got a good start on it. It’s a very nice house.”

“I know. Elizabeth Holbrook was a close friend. I went over every Sunday evening to have a glass of tea and a talk out on that front porch. It was on one of those evenings that she had her stroke. I had to be the one to call Jordan four years ago and have her take Elizabeth away. I miss that front porch.” He sat on a tree stump. They both looked out on the water.

“Lizzy must have been named after her.”

“Yep, Elizabeth, Elizabeth Holbrook,” Arnold confirmed. “She’s like her too, smart as a whip. Her looks are different though. Elizabeth was a small woman with light blonde hair and the bluest eyes you’ve ever seen. Jordan must have taken after her daddy, whoever he was.”

Connor raised a brow, but let it pass.

“Why doesn’t Lizzy have her daddy’s name?”

“That man was incarcerated just before she was born. What a piece of work he was. Jordan gave the baby her maiden name and took it back herself, once she was divorced.”

“How would Jordan get mixed up with a criminal? She doesn’t seem the type.”

“She’s not the type, but we all make mistakes.” Arnold picked up a long twig and began breaking it into little pieces. “Butler came to work for the company Jordan worked for in Tampa. He said he was an orphan. He claimed to be in trouble for stealing as a kid, in order to feed himself. Butler also admitted he’d been in jail later for beating a man half to death because the guy had attacked him in an alley. Jordan felt sorry for him, which is what he’d intended.

He’d been in jail all right, but he’d been guilty. By the time Jordan found out the truth, she was married and pregnant. Butler beat her up the first time when he found out she was having the baby. Jordan knew he was still at his old tricks. The people he brought home were that sort too. She didn’t know what to do. One day they were at one of those little quickie stores. Butler decided to hold the place up.”

“You mean, while she was with him?” Connor asked in disbelief.

“He used her as a hostage. Holding a knife on a pregnant woman will usually make a man open a cash register pretty fast. The videotape was very clear. You could see every bruise on her face. I think the jury would have convicted on that alone. Since then it’s just been her and Lizzy. I’m surprised to hear that she lets you in the house. She doesn’t usually trust anybody these days. I just hope he never finds her.”

“Why? He can’t hold her responsible for what he did.”

“Oh yes he can. He can hold her responsible for getting him caught, too.”

“You said the police had a clear videotape.”

“But they didn’t have his name and location until Jordan called and turned him in.”

“Damn,” Connor snapped. No wonder she had the attitude. “How did you find out about all of this?”

“Elizabeth. She was in that courtroom every day. She was furious when he was only sentenced for ten to fifteen years.”

“You two must have been close.”

“Not as close as I would have liked.” Arnold tossed the rest of the twig into the water and stood. “I gave her too much space. I lost my chance.”

Arnold had almost reached the edge of the woods when Connor called out to him.

“Hey Coleman, how long did you say his sentence was?”

“Ten to fifteen.”

“How long ago was that?”

“About five and a half years…right before Lizzy was born.”

Connor decided to pack up his van and head back early. He had a few things to look into.

Chapter Five

The stubby pencil broke in Bobby Ray’s hand. Damn. He wouldn’t be able to finish the picture until after his next trip to the commissary. It was bad enough they were the size of the pencils you’d find in a bowling alley or miniature golf course. The only way he had to sharpen them was to use his teeth. But, this one was already too small.

Thinking about Jordan always put him in a foul mood. Not only was his being here her fault but he hadn’t heard a word from her in all this time.

His lawyer had promised that if he signed the divorce papers she’d sent, his chance of parole would be better. At least that had been true, but it still took too long. That same day, his lawyer had also told him that she had given birth to a girl. She couldn’t even give him a son. She never did anything right. To hear she’d named the brat after her grandmother had been the last insult. He pictured the old lady’s face glaring at him from across the courtroom, so high and mighty. That was okay. He had a plan.

He’d met Bennett in the chow hall last February and they’d become friends before Bennett was released. It was convenient to have a lawyer as a friend, even if the guy was a weasel. He was collecting information for him right this minute.

Bobby Ray swore he’d have his revenge, come hell or high water.

****

As soon as Connor pulled in behind the barn, Jordan raced toward the van. Her thick braid bounced against her back and her long legs stroked the air like a gazelle. He was relieved to see a wide smile on her face.

“Connor, I’m so glad you’re back. I’ve been about to bust waiting to tell somebody my great news.”

“What’s up, boss?” he asked.

“I’ve got a job,” she squealed. “I went to Holly’s with a pie for the barbecue. Hey, do you want some pie?”

“Maybe later, get back to your story. You got a job making pies?”

“No silly, at the bank.”

“You took pies to the bank?”

“No, listen carefully. You’re getting this all mixed up.”

Connor burst out laughing. He loved this woman. Oh my God! He loved this woman! How had that happened?

“Start from the beginning and stick to the story. I think we can get through this before morning.”

“Okay, listen. I took a pie to Holly’s house. Her husband is the bank manager at the Merchants Bank. He needs a new teller. That’s me.” Jordan jumped up and down clapping. She didn’t look any older than Lizzy right then and she was adorable. “The lady who runs the daycare Holly’s boys go to, Mrs. Rogers on First Street, says they’ll take Lizzy. Isn’t that great?”

“Yes, it’s great. My boss has a job. Do I get a raise and what kind of pie do you have?”

She looked up at him sheepishly, “I have two apples and two peaches left.”

“I leave for one day and you start binge baking? Anyone else would think that you missed me.” He grinned.

“Did you eat? Are you hungry?”

“Do you have any of that meatloaf left?”

“Cold meatloaf sandwiches, yum! I haven’t eaten either.”

He threw his arm around her shoulders as they started toward the house, and then stopped.

“Maybe I should take a shower first.”

“Maybe you should,” she said with her nose crinkled. He grabbed her into a bear hug as she squirmed and gasped with laughter. “Now I’ll need a shower too.”

“I’m always willing to share.”

“Dream on, Romeo.”

****

Jordan’s first week at her new job was fabulous. She met old friends and made new ones. The work was easy to learn. Each day she came home to a new room. Connor did all the decorating and his taste was incredible. On Monday, her living room was painted warm gold. He’d put in the faux Persian rug, green leather furniture, throw pillows and candles for accent. Tuesday, her dining room was the same gold with a plum table runner and a floral arrangement that looked great with her grandmother’s china. Wednesday he added decorative tile at the back of the kitchen counters. He also installed a large island in the middle of the floor with a pot rack over the top. Thursday, the bathroom became a rich cream color with matching tile. The new towels and rugs were burgundy and gold. Friday, the spare bedroom had cream walls with burgundy striped drapes and comforter. Every evening a hot meal was waiting. Even better than all that, the phone calls had stopped.